Joann E. Flaminio to become B.A.A. President

She will serve as first female in that capacity, effective January 1, 2011.

BOSTON, Mass. – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today that Joann E. Flaminio has been elected B.A.A. President by the B.A.A. Board of Governors.

Flaminio, 54, will be the first female president of the organization, which was established in 1887, and she will be the 23rd president in B.A.A.’s 123-year history. She has been a member of the B.A.A. since 1993 and has been on the B.A.A.’s Board of Governors since 1996.

Flaminio was nominated to serve as president by Gloria G. Ratti, and the motion was seconded by the previous four B.A.A. Presidents: Thomas W. Whelton; Frank B. Porter, Jr.; John V. Coyle; and Thomas S. Grilk. She was elected unanimously.

A native of Worcester, Mass. she is employed as a vice president in the investment industry and has served on numerous philanthropic and athletic committees during her years of involvement with the B.A.A. She attended Tufts University and earned her law degree from Suffolk University.

Effective January 1, 2011, Flaminio will succeed Grilk as president, who will become B.A.A. Executive Director. Guy L. Morse, III, who has served as the organization's executive director (since 2000) and Boston Marathon Race Director (1985-2000), will become senior director of external affairs as of that same date. David McGillivray remains the Boston Marathon Race Director.

“Serving as B.A.A. President is a distinct honor,” said Flaminio, who is a recreational runner. “I am committed to the B.A.A.’s mission of promoting fitness through athletics, and look forward to advancing our initiatives both with the Boston Marathon and in our many other events.”

The 115th Boston Marathon, the world's oldest annual marathon and one of the world's most prestigious road races, will be held on Monday, April 18, 2011. For a full biography on Joann Flaminio: click here.

Born in West Medford, Massachusetts as one of ten children, Kelley ran track and cross-country at Arlington High School in Massachusetts. He did not finish his first Boston Marathon in 1928, but eventually competed in a record 61 Boston Marathons. A legend of the marathon, Kelley won the 1935 and 1945 runnings of the Boston Marathon. He finished in second place at Boston a record seven times. Between 1934 to 1950, he finished in the top five 15 times at Boston, consistently running in the 2:30s. He ran his last full marathon at Boston in 1992 at the age of 84, his 61st start and 58th finish there.